Last night was our monthly support group leaders meeting at my house. I am president of our local homeschool association, which has about 250 families. I am one of the 3 moms who founded the group 10 years ago , when we started a new Christian support group in my town with 17 families.  A lot of exciting opportunities and some real challenges have come with that growth.  One of the things we were discussing last night was a dress code.  It is an issue that has cropped up from time to time, particularly in regards to our teen activities and our sports teams. We have a large number of teens and a number of social and service activities for them throughout the year. We have middle school and high school girls volleyball teams that play competitively against local private school, charter school, and homeschool teams.  We also have girls and boys basketball, and may be starting soccer soon. 

Last year a concern was raised over the spandex volleyball shorts ( they really aren't shorts; they look like bathing suit bottoms ) that a couple of girls were wearing to practices. Those girls also played club, or Jr. Olympic, volleyball, and that was part of their uniform. 

Collegiate teams also wear the spandex bottoms.  A division has arisen between those who say that clothing that short and that tight is inappropriate on a Christian young lady even in a gym, and those who say that athletes should wear whatever is customary for their sport. Other concerns have been expressed over spaghetti strap tops, low rise jeans and rolled down shorts that show the tummy, and tight tops on well-developed teen girls. 

We all know that homeschoolers don't like to be told what to do!  We also know that there are very strong opinions among Christians over what is acceptable and what is not acceptable dress. Among the 11 leaders at the meeting last night there were differences of opinion.  If we make the rules too strict, are we being legalistic? If we make them too lenient, then why bother?  Are we willing to police the rules that we do make? Do we really need a written dress code, or should we just address issues individually as they come up? But then on what basis can you make a complaint, since there are no written guidelines? Is this just a matter of personal preference, and shouldn't parents be the ones to decide what is okay for their children to wear?  And what about parents? Teens aren't the only ones guilty of wearing tight pants and low cut necklines.

I tend to think that our association needs to set expectations for dress and behavior, for adults and children.  People do watch us, and the way that members dress, speak, and act does reflect upon our group, upon homeschoolers in general, and upon the body of Christ.  I think that conservative dress standards help set a tone of respect and create an atmosphere of wholesomeness rather than licentiousness.

I'd really like to know what you think about this subject.  Does your support group have a dress code? What guidelines would you say are important, and what are too strict? What Scriptural basis would you use?

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